WORRIES OF CRIMINAL LAW:

The criminal law poses many worries and problems. Some crime policies are defective and result in the mass imprisonment and hinder the development of an equal and just society. One of the most serious problems of criminal law is the juvenile misbehavior or delinquency. The act committed by the juveniles, which, if committed by adults would be crimes, are considered only as misbehavior under criminal law. In general, the minimum age, which has been fixed for taking a punitive action against an act of juvenile is the age of eighteen years. Only, if the juvenile is at or above eighteen years, judicial power can be invoked. This arrangement of criminal law has led to increased crime rate by the juveniles and is a matter of concern and worry for the general public. Thus, there should be some deterrent authority and the adolescents must e taught to abide by law. The second major problem and worry of the criminal law is associated with the indigent people. The law provides that every accused will be entitled to the assistance of a lawyer to assist him in the criminal prosecution. When this law was made, it was based on humanitarian grounds that an accused who did not have money and sources to engage a lawyer should be supplied a lawyer by the government for his defense. But, the implementation of this law becomes increasingly difficult with the increased number of cases with the time. Speedy disposal is the main aim in majority of the cases. With this aim, it becomes difficult for the courts to first contact the lawyers for the indigent persons and then wait for their response before initiating the trial. Moreover, the prosecution and defense being done by the same government, puts the accused at a disadvantage. Another provision of criminal law is that an accused cannot be held criminally responsible if his unlawful act is due to some defect or disease of his mind. It is another matter, of worry of the criminal law. Experts are called upon to verify such defect or disease and if the expert errs in his judgment due to scanty of facts, it leads to wrong decision in the case. This law is often misused by the accused, in order to escape punishment.

The above problems have become larger in the present day situation and reforms in the criminal law are required to control the criminal activities more effectively.